What the hell? It helps to put in the time.
So I checked out a shop down the street from where I work.
One guy was there, Tommy. Tommy had no tattoos that I could see. I asked where all of the artists' portfolios were. "Oh, they're not here now. They'll bring 'em in later. Here's mine."
He had maybe 6 - 8 pieces of flash in there, plus a portrait of Mary, and one of Jesus. I started thinking, "apprentice?".
I talked to him a little about my idea, telling him that I wanted black and gray. We got around to discussing white, and he was saying, "Oh, white's not a color. I get black guys coming in wanting white tattoos, and I tell them it won't look good, and they get pissed, thinking it's a racial thing. [Tommy is a Chicano, not that it matters.] I tell them, 'no man, it isn't like that. As long as you've got the green, that's the only color I care about.'"
It was easy for me to cross that one off the list. The shop actually has a website. Tommy is supposedly the manager, and apparently the only artist at that location. And none of his work is available to view online.
http://www.absolutetat2.com/pages/sanpedro.htm
The search for a shop continues
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The studio itself looks pretty good, a bit sparse maybe. Makes me wonder what's up with this place. That one procedure room looked like a piercing room, not a tattoo room.
Interesting choice of wording on the sign: "tattoos & body art". That's about like saying "guns and firearms"?!
Looks to me like somebody with a little bit of money decided to play tattoo shop owner.
Interesting choice of wording on the sign: "tattoos & body art". That's about like saying "guns and firearms"?!
Looks to me like somebody with a little bit of money decided to play tattoo shop owner.
pretty much.MattCrunk wrote:The studio itself looks pretty good, a bit sparse maybe. Makes me wonder what's up with this place. That one procedure room looked like a piercing room, not a tattoo room.
Interesting choice of wording on the sign: "tattoos & body art". That's about like saying "guns and firearms"?!
Looks to me like somebody with a little bit of money decided to play tattoo shop owner.
but i still wish my shop would look nice like that. my shop is a PIECE OF SHIT !!! i ned to post pics.
I checked out two more shops today.
One was clean, but I could've been invisible. That's okay; I sat down and started flipping through portfolios. Lots of trendy shit (tribal, tribal, tribal). I didn't see much custom work. Definitely not the place to go for a portrait.
The other shop was dirty. The portfolios were better. But I wasn't blown away. This was the spot cali recommended. Cricket's work was decent, but I wouldn't have him do a portrait for me. And I'd be really nervous there.
The search continues, but the other candidates are just competing with Doug at this point. I think his work speaks for itself.
http://www.douglasbillian.com/artists.html
One was clean, but I could've been invisible. That's okay; I sat down and started flipping through portfolios. Lots of trendy shit (tribal, tribal, tribal). I didn't see much custom work. Definitely not the place to go for a portrait.
The other shop was dirty. The portfolios were better. But I wasn't blown away. This was the spot cali recommended. Cricket's work was decent, but I wouldn't have him do a portrait for me. And I'd be really nervous there.
The search continues, but the other candidates are just competing with Doug at this point. I think his work speaks for itself.
http://www.douglasbillian.com/artists.html
Dude, I just looked at your profile to see where you are. If you're in San Antonio, why not just drive to Austin? Austin, Texas, is supposed to have more tattoo shops per capita than any other city in the US. I'm sure you'll find a good portrait artist somewhere there.
Also, keep in mind that a shop can have a cluttered, "dirty" appearance but still be clean where it counts. The reverse is also true: they can look all spic and span and still work dirty as hell.
I'd judge a shop on the quality of their portfolios and reputation more than anything else.
Also, keep in mind that a shop can have a cluttered, "dirty" appearance but still be clean where it counts. The reverse is also true: they can look all spic and span and still work dirty as hell.
I'd judge a shop on the quality of their portfolios and reputation more than anything else.
I would not have guessed that about Austin. I'm definitely focusing on the portfolios. If I see something amazing, then I will look into it some more. I'll take a look at Austin shops, too. I've got time, after all.MattCrunk wrote:Dude, I just looked at your profile to see where you are. If you're in San Antonio, why not just drive to Austin? Austin, Texas, is supposed to have more tattoo shops per capita than any other city in the US. I'm sure you'll find a good portrait artist somewhere there.
Also, keep in mind that a shop can have a cluttered, "dirty" appearance but still be clean where it counts. The reverse is also true: they can look all spic and span and still work dirty as hell.
I'd judge a shop on the quality of their portfolios and reputation more than anything else.
I went in to Doug Billian's shop and spoke to him about my idea. He is definitely an option. I'm going to look at some more local shops (today), to make sure I get a fair sample of SA artists.
Did you check out Doug's work? What do you think of it?
Doug is obviously a good tattooer, and looks like a very good artist when it comes to the more stylized stuff, but I'm not all that impressed with his style of portrait work. I've seen better.Feesh wrote: Did you check out Doug's work? What do you think of it?